About

The Uboot Bootloader is the ONLY thing in flash on this boxes (the Kurobox Pro is an exception here with its 256 MB NAND flash). Most boot problems therefore are related to messed up HDDs. As long as it is working you can always revive your box via tftp from scratch. Even with (a) completely blank HDD(s). If you encounter the problem that tftp does not work anymore your only chance might be JTAG for revival.

This guide should help you in the quest of reviving your arm9 box as long as your Bootloader is still working properly.

NOTE:

This procedure has been found not to work on some LS Live v2 boxes (or more) as its dependant on uboot being programmed to request tftp kernel/initrd. YMMV

General Procedure

1) Get TFTP Server + Kernel and initrd

The TFTP Boot program contains an TFTP server for Windows, the Kernel and initrd for the Buffalo.

2) Configure Nics

Connect the Buffalo directly to a computer.

Set the IP address of the computer to 192.168.11.1

3) Boot The Unit

Launch the TFTP Boot program.

Make sure is says is is Listening On: 192.168.11.1

If it is not listening on 192.168.11.1, then it does not see the network adapter as being active. So either briefly power the NAS on, and restart the TFTP Boot program, then power off the Buffalo. Or try using a hub or a router.

Power on the Buffalo

The TFTP Boot Program should say that two files where pulled - initrd.buffalo and uImage.buffalo

It should only take ~30 seconds for the boot loader to pull these two files. If it takes longer than 2 minutes then the boot loader is not going to pull the files.

If the box is stuck permanently pulling the initrd.buffalo and uImage.buffalo files over and over again or simply fails to appear in LSUpdate checkout the troubleshooting section below.

TFTP Boot

4) Update Firmware

If the Buffalo pulled the kernel and initrd from TFTP, wait till the power led is green.

Modify the lsupdater.ini files, which is included in the firmware update.

Right-Click on the two golden rings in the top left hand corner of the updater, and select debug.

In the config section of the window that opens - select Do not check version, Delete user-config, and Force Update

Finally Update Firmware

Debug Options

5) If upgrading the drive, or if step 4 fails

Warning: This will format the data partition

Run the same firmware updater, and go to the Debug options and additionally check the following:

Rebuild partition table

This should return your NAS to out of the box conditions.

Troubleshooting

If the box is stuck permanently pulling the initrd.buffalo and uImage.buffalo files over and over again or simply fails to appear in LSUpdate extract the HDD as described below and connected it a PC running Linux - Knoppix is ideal for the purpose.

Mount the first partition (where the kernel and initrd live) as root and delete the contents:

mkdir ~/boot
mount /dev/sdX1 /root/boot
rm -rf /root/boot/*

Download the Buffalo firmware for the device. We need to copy uImage.buffalo and initrd.img to /root/boot.

The final step is to unzip initrd.img from inside /root/boot (it is a zip file, it is just in disguise!).

for the LS Pro it is YvSInIQopeipx66t_DCdfEvfP47qeVPhNhAuSYmA4 for example.

Reinsert the HDD and rebuild the box - it should now boot correctly and appear to the updater ready for the firmware of your choice.

Note that you can use this method to install Freelink or other firmwares manually however they will not appear to the buffalo updater so be sure to get them right. It might be better to install the buffalo firmware and use the updater according to the correct instructions than follow this route.

Box Specific Hints

LS Pro, Old LS Live

If you have a arm9-Linkstation and you tried Step 4 and if Step 5 is no choice because you have valuable data on the box then you need to recover the data before.

LS Live v2

SEVERAL BOXES were bricked by flashing the stock firmwares. use the 2.06 for unbricking!Followup to the above warning - schurl85 used 2.10 with success, as 2.06 was unavailable for him. Read more here: Bricked LSLiveV2

If you have a arm9-Linkstation and you tried Step 4 and if Step 5 is no choice because you have valuable data on the box then you need to recover the data before.

In case even the "Rebuild Partition Table" Option does not help follow this steps to rebuild the partitions on all HDDs:

1. To rebuild your disk you will need to connect your disk to a PC running Ubuntu, Knoppix or similar. These two programs offer a downloadable bootable CD which you can use on most computers. Simply install/connect the TSP disk to your computer and boot up your computer with the bootable Ubuntu or Knoppix CD. The information below is based on commands used on a computer running Ubuntu. Please remember that you will require all the files you extracted from the firmware file in the directory of your choice once you have booted with Ubuntu. A USB memory stick is quite useful for this purpose.

2. Once booted with Ubuntu, create a directory on your desktop called tsp (right click the desktop and choose new folder). Copy all the firmware files, including the unzipped password protected files to the tsp directory on your desktop.

3. Open a terminal window from the applications menu at the top left hand side of the screen and type:

sudo –s -H
fdisk –l

(you should see the name of your disk, probably something like /dev/hda or /dev/hdb or /dev/sda or /dev/sdb. If you have more than one disk you might be able to differentiate them by size)
this might help to find out the device name

cat /proc/partitions

4. Once you know the name of your disk type:

cfdisk /dev/???

(replace ??? with the three letter code of your disk. We will use sda as the three letter code for the following example)

5. If there are any existing partitions delete all of them using the up and down arrow and the delete menu at the bottom of the screen

6. Create the following partitions using the arrow keys and the menus on the bottom of the screen:

13. Disconnect the disk from your computer and reinstall the disk in the TSP

14. Turn on (reboot) your TSP

15. Your TSP should boot normally and you should see Loading Kernel on the LCD display, try running the TSUpdater again.
15a. In case of LiveStation box, it will get into the EM mode. Use acp_commander.jar to get telnet access to the system. Execute /usr/local/bin/chghddroot and than reboot. This should enable the system to come out of the EM mode.
16. If you are still having problems, rebuild all remaining TSP disk in the same manner. Then run TSUpdater again.